Going Up! Braves Record Win 10,000 in Blowout Of Nationals

Hello again everyone from the pleasant weather of Michigan in the summer! I thought about mentioning that it’s still tracking towards the hottest summer up here in about a million years, but then I remembered how miserable it is most everywhere else and changed my mind.

On the baseball front, things were far from miserable tonight for Braves fans, as the Braves opened the “second half” of the season with a blowout, 11-1 victory over Washington, in process becoming only the third team in history to notch 10,000 wins as a franchise. Everything that Nationals’ starter Livan Hernandez lobbed up to the plate in his inimitable “slow, slower, slowest” fashion seemed to be hit back at him twice as hard as he lollipopped them up there. Then, they either found holes for hits or holes in the Nationals’ gloves for errors. In total, the Braves racked up 13 hits and the Nationals tied their season high with 5 errors. There were so many runners on the bases that the Braves thought about putting the cops guarding the field to work directing traffic!

Highlights, how do I love thee, let me count the ways: 1) Seven innings of seven hit, one run mastery by Tim Hudson 2) Two hits and a home run by Martin Prado in his return to the lineup 3) Two hits, three RBI’s, and a mashed double to the left-center field gap by Freddie Freeman 4) Three runs, a hit, and a walk from Jordan Schafer, who continued to get on base and run like the wind when he got there 5) Auburn-style hitting from the slugging Tim Hudson, who helped his cause with a single and a smoked double to right field, kick starting the Braves batting around and scoring three runs in the sixth and 6) The team going 9 for 19 with runners in scoring position. I could keep going, but my fingers are getting tired 🙂 .

I know it’s one game, I know it’s the Washington Nationals (who, in their defense, came in with a .500 record), and I know the Nationals played defense like they were being paid by the Braves, but to my mind this game was a preview of what this team is capable of doing on a regular basis. Anyone who doubts the Braves starting pitching hasn’t been paying attention. Anyone who doubts whether Freddie Freeman is for real hasn’t been paying attention. Anyone who hasn’t noticed Dan Uggla and Jason Heyward starting to shake off the slumber needs to pay a little closer attention. And I think folks need to start paying attention to the overall offense, especially when Chipper Jones comes back with two legs beneath him.

If you hadn’t noticed, I’m pumped. I think another good run is about to be unleashed. That’s my take; what’s yours?